Israel's security crisis has new political team sweating

Last week, it looked highly likely that a new government was about to take over in Israel. Then the security situation escalated, throwing more obstacles in the path of a new government headed by Yamina chair Naftali Bennett that would relegate current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the opposition benches.

Until around noon yesterday, the leaders of the change bloc seemed optimistic that a new government would be announced very soon. They had already allocated portfolios and were negotiating the guidelines for the new coalition. The participating party leaders all believed that by the end of the week, Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid would inform President Reuven Rivlin that he had succeeded in forming a coalition.